GOP ribs Pelosi after Roberts cites her in student loans decision

Republicans are calling out Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the former House speaker, after Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts quoted her in his majority ruling striking down President Biden’s student loan forgiveness program. 

The court ruled 6-3 that the program, which would have forgiven thousands of dollars in student loan debt for many borrowers, that the Biden administration had not received congressional authority to grant the forgiveness. 

Roberts quoted in the majority opinion comments that Pelosi gave during a press conference in July 2021, in which she said Biden did not have the authority to cancel student loans by executive order, only delay it. 

“People think that the President of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness. He does not. He can postpone. He can delay. But he does not have that power. That has to be an act of Congress,” Pelosi said at the time.

Many GOP lawmakers chimed in after the ruling was handed down to call attention to her inclusion in Roberts’ opinion.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) tweeted that the court “called out” Pelosi with the reference. 

“I agree with her for once!” McCarthy said. 

Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) posted an image on his Twitter with the quote from Pelosi, writing “Even former Speaker Nancy Pelosi agrees.” Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) and former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany also quoted her. 

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.) noted that “even” Pelosi agreed that Biden did not have the authority to push the proposal forward.

Pelosi said in a statement on Friday after the ruling was released that the court’s majority “cruelly denied” debt relief to 40 million Americans in need.

“In doing so, the Court allows a crisis of debt to continue holding back families from buying homes, starting businesses and making ends meet,” she said. “Wrongly, the Majority Opinion in this case ignores the convincing arguments on the President’s legal authority that were made in the last year by the Department of Education and by former House Education Committee Chairman George Miller.”

She vowed that the fight to provide relief is “not over,” echoing Biden’s response to the decision.

Biden’s forgiveness plan would have cleared up to $10,000 in debt for borrowers making up to $125,000 per year. It would have forgiven up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients. 

The administration argued that the Higher Education Opportunities for Students Act, which allows the education secretary to “waive or modify” federal student aid programs in cases of national emergency, gave the president the authority for the plan, coming amid the COVID-19 national emergency.

But Roberts argued the plan was not a modification or waiver and went beyond clear congressional authorization.

A source close to Pelosi told The Hill that the comments cited in the majority opinion came early on in the national debate on student loan forgiveness and a year before Biden put forward his plan.

They said the former House Speaker found the arguments in favor of the plan to be persuasive and issued a statement declaring her support for it last August. The source added that Pelosi has acknowledged her understanding that the program’s legality was incomplete in July 2021 and Biden’s plan is lawful.